Mom calls out YouTube video with hidden suicide plan for kids

A screenshot of the YouTube Kids app, billed as a safe, family friendly version of the video site.(Photo: screenshot)

A Florida-based pediatrician who is also a mother is calling out YouTube over a series of videos aimed at kids with inappropriate content, including one offering instructions on how to commit suicide.

Dr. Free Hess, who runs her own website called PediMom.com, said she first encountered the video with a clip of the suicide instructions edited in about seven months ago from a concerned parent.

Hess said although the clip was removed from YouTube Kids – a version of YouTube available as an app billed as kid friendly – it had resurfaced on YouTube.

A clip from the video recorded by Hess appears to show cartoonish characters from "Splatoon," a video game made by Nintendo. Hess said more than four minutes in, the video abruptly flips to a man offering advice on how to commit suicide.

Hess also flagged several other videos with inappropriate content on the YouTube Kids app. Some of the examples include Minecraft clips with shooting scenes and a cartoon appearing to suggest human trafficking.

In a statement, YouTube said any videos that don't belong in the app are removed, and the service has invested in additional parental controls to tailor the user experience more closely.

"We work to ensure the videos in YouTube Kids are family-friendly and take feedback very seriously," said YouTube.

Hess could not be immediately reached for comment.

YouTube has faced intense scrutiny over how well it controls objectionable content appearing on its platform. In the latest incident, several companies were pulling ads fearing they would appear on videos where pedophiles were making comments objectifying young girls.